Tess Thompson on Resistance, Mindset, and Letting Your Dreams Live
Episode 143 / Tess Thompson, author of small town romances and American historical romances, joins us to talk about mindset changes she made that have helped her achieve career goals. We delve into resistance, limiting beliefs, and discoverability. Tess also shares tips for writing a small town romance series.
Intro links:
Show notes:
- How Tess was traditionally published and then went indie in 2017, essentially starting over from scratch
- What Tess has learned that helped her writing career take off: finish a series, find your genre sweet spot, use cover styles that readers expect
- Why the thing that we resist is often the thing we should be doing
- The discoverability problem and how Tess fixed it
- How Tess moved from a fear-based mindset to a mindset of letting her dreams live
- Why conferences are a good investment even when your revenue is low
- Small town world building
- How Tess researches her historicals
Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com.
Links:
Inker’s Con 2025: Now through June 20th, use code JAMI25 to get $50 off:
https://inkerscon.com/2025-digital-conference (Affiliate link)
🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices
❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5
🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/
📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/
The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcast
Resources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing